Peace groups have launched a protest against the NBC reality show, “Stars Earn Stripes,” which debuts Monday (7-9 p.m. on Channel 9) after massive promotion during the Olympics.

The groups opposing the show charge that the series turns war into a game, minimizes the very real, lethal results or war and trivializes conflict. The protestors — including RootsAction.org, Just Foreign Policy, Veterans For Peace and Military Families Speak Out — blast the program as “War-o-tainment.”

Retired U.S. Gen. Wesley Clark serves as co-host of the show; Todd Palin, husband of Sarah Palin, is among the “celebrity” contestants. NBC pitches the show as “an action-packed competition show that pays homage to the men and women who serve in the U.S. armed forces and our first-responder services.”

Joanne Ostrow has been watching TV since before "reality" required quotation marks. "Hill Street Blues" was life-changing. If Dickens, Twain or Agatha Christie were alive today, they'd be writing for television. And proud of it.